Must do better: the lessons to be learned from Winterbourne View

Ruth Northway Professor of learning disability nursing, Faculty of health, sport and science, University of Glamorgan

Robert Jenkins Principal lecturer, Faculty of health, sport and science, University of Glamorgan

Ruth Northway and Robert Jenkins provide a historical context to the events at Winterbourne View and argue for greater vigilance in community settings

The abuse revealed in last year’s Panorama documentary, Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed, was not an isolated event. In this article the authors describe previous events and the reactions to them, and warn that abuse will continue unless it is addressed wherever it occurs.